For the entire month of March, the Sportable Staff will look at one Major League Baseball team a day. We?ll look at their lineups and pitching and in the end, assess their playoff chances. Previews will be done by division, starting with the American League East. Each new division will also feature a new podcast devoted entirely to that division.

New Look, New Staff, New Hopes
When the Diamondbacks take the field next week, you might think they’re the the Houston Astros. After 9 seasons with the purple and turquoise scheme, the D-Backs will adopt a red and copper style. But that’s not the only changes in the Desert for 2007. Longtime Snakes like Luis Gonzalez, Craig Counsell. and Miguel Batista have all moved on. What’s left is a very young team with one of the elite starting rotations in all of baseball.

Bats
To say the Diamondbacks position players are young would be an understatement. The last three sub-.500 seasons has given them the chance to develop their farm system into one of baseball’s best. We began to see the results late last season, as the Diamondbacks started giving their youngsters more playing time. Fans have already begun to coin this group of players “The Baby Backs.” The youth movement is obvious everywhere. First baseman Conor Jackson had an impressive rookie season, hitting 15 homers and driving in 79 despite having a terrible spelling of his name. The middle infield is young and incredibly talented. Steven Drew, the brother of my enemy JD, hit .316 after coming up to the Major Leagues in July. He’ll be paired with second baseman Orlando Hudson, who came into his own in his first season with Arizona. Hudson has won two straight gold gloves at second base and set career highs in homers, RBIs, and batting average. 3rd baseman Chad Tracy hit 41 doubles a season ago to go with his 20 homers. He also looks exactly like the Milf Hunter. If Zona has a legitimate cleanup hitter in their lineup, it’s likely Eric Byrnes. Byrnes hit 26 homers last year and stole 25 bases. Unfortunately, he never found time to go to the barber. But he did have time to do some analysis for FOX during last year’s playoffs. He was pitiful. Youngsters Chris Young and Carlos Quentin round out the outfield. Young is expected to challenge for the National League Rookie of the Year after posting three straight seasons with 20+ homers in the minors.

Arms
If the Diamondbacks are to contend in the division, it will be on the backs of their starting rotation, which is among the best in baseball. Sinkerballer and 2006 Cy Young Award Winner Brandon Webb will be the ace of the staff after winning 16 games a season ago. You know the guy that announcers sackride because he can pitch a game in two hours? That’s Webb, who threw five complete games last season, three of them being shutouts. Randy Johnson returns to the Hell’s Kitchen that is Phoenix after spending a couple unhappy years in the Bronx. Johnson helped the Diamondbacks to their first (and only) World Series championship in 2001. He’s not the same pitcher he was back then but he’s still going to push for 15 wins and 200 strikeouts. Livan Hernandez has been the ace of several staffs so having him as the #3 starter shows the depth of this team’s pitching. The fat Cuban will chew up innings and keep this team in games all season. He’s thrown more than 200 innings every season since 1998 and he’s had some success in the NL West while pitching for the Giants from 1999-2002. In November, the D-Backs were able to hustle the Brewers for lefty Doug Davis in exchange for catcher Johnny Estrada. He was good for 11-12 wins a season in Milwaukee and he should do the same in Arizona. He brings some more balance to this rotation. Last year, his control deteriorated and his ERA rose over a run. It’ll be up to Diamondbacks pitching coach Bryan Price to make sure that doesn’t happen again. The fifth spot in the rotation will likely go to young Edgar Gonzalez, a 24 year old that posted several quality starts in September. I’m not as optimistic about the Diamondbacks’ rotation. Jose Valverde will be the closer by default. He closed out 18 games last year but had an ERA hovering around 6. At times, he’s dominant. At times, he’s pathetic. Valverde had 14 saves in the first two months of the season but obviously struggled after that. Brandon Lyon and Brandon Medders were Zona’s best relievers, both posting ERAs in the 3s. They also have Casey Daigle, the envy of every single sports fan on the planet. He’s married to former Olympian softball player Jennie Finch. Nededless to say, I wont feel bad for Daigle if his ERA soars above 6.

Prediction
I expect the National League West to be hard-fought again so it’s not far-fetched to see Arizona contending in the division. Their season will rely on the consistency of all those young players. They’ll likely have some ups and downs because this is their first season where they’ll be starters in April. But there’s some real optimism here. The Baby Backs have reached the Big Show, meaning the Diamondbacks could be in for some special seasons soon.